This-N-That
ASBA Publishes Sports Fields Manual
Ellicott City, Md.—The American Sports Builders Association (ASBA), the national organization for builders, designers and suppliers of materials for sports fields, running tracks, tennis courts and indoor and outdoor synthetic sports surfaces, has published the 2014 edition of Sports Fields: A Construction and Maintenance Manual .
The new publication includes enhancements such as chapters on multi-use fields as well as on sustainability and on reclamation and reconstruction of artificial turf fields that have reached the end of their useful life. Chapters have also been added on design and construction of artificial turf fields for populations with mobility impairments, as well as the use of turf (artificial and natural) in non-sports field applications.
To order copies of the book, call (866) 501-2722, or visit www.sportsbuilders.org .
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Henderson, Nev. Named A Playful City For 7 th Time
Congratulations to the city of Henderson, Nev. For being named a Playful City USA community for the seventh time by KaBoom!; a national nonprofit dedicated to saving children’s play. Playful City USA is a national recognition program sponsored by the Humana Foundation honoring cities and towns that champion efforts to make play a priority for all children. Henderson is the only community in Nevada to earn this national designation.
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Arlington Rewarded For Safety
Congrats on a job well done, Arlington, Va., County’s Department of Parks and Recreation, for being recognized as a 2014 Champion of Safety by the Chesapeake Region Safety Council, a chapter of the National Safety Council. Recognized as the 2014 “Most Improved” safety program for a government agency, the department received the award in June at the Chesapeake Region Safety Council’s 91st Annual Meeting and Awards Presentation.
The number of lost workday cases was cut by almost two thirds over the last two years as the department brought on a full-time safety specialist and created two safety committees to help involve employees in the department safety programs and improvements.
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Eco Chemical Pitches In To Help A Local Nonprofit
Seattle, Wash.—Kudos to Eco Chemical for donating the natural-grass turf paint and labor to prepare 12 soccer fields at the Special Olympics Washington Summer Games 2014 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Wash. Soccer was just one event of several Special Olympics events that took place on the military parade grounds, called Watkins Field. This is the first year Eco Chemical has donated their paint, but the company reports it won’t be their last.
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Eldorado Climbing Walls Celebrates 20 th Anniversary
Boulder, Colo.—Eldorado Climbing Walls, is celebrating its 20 th anniversary of being pioneers in the climbing industry.
Eldorado was originally founded by Steve Holmes and John McGowan in the early 90’s. Climbers themselves, Holmes and McGowan had built the Boulder Rock Club, one of the country’s first indoor climbing gyms. In 1994, they sold the Boulder Rock Club to work full time as climbing wall builders, opening Eldorado Climbing Walls.
In addition to climbing wall construction, Eldorado offers climbing gym start-up consultations, inspections and refurbishing services. The company partners with businesses through every step of their climbing wall build—from conception to construction and beyond.
For more information, visit www.eldowalls.com .
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Field Notes
FMC Corporation recently named Alea Miehls as Market Specialist for its Turf & Ornamental segment. She will provide sales and technical support in the western states including California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah and Arizona.
Jacobsen , a Textron Inc. company, announces Rob Cooke has joined the company as Territory Sales Manager.
As the newest member of Jacobsen’s sales team, Cooke will be responsible for supporting dealers and customers in eastern Canada. He will be based in Ontario.
Sports Turf Canada announces that Ray Stukas is the 2014 Sports Turf Manager of the Year. He is the Manager of Parks, Toronto & East York District, for the City of Toronto, Ontario. The award is a prestigious honor which recognizes an individual’s professional ability and contribution to the Canadian sports turf industry and shows appreciation for his or her proactive and progressive efforts within the profession.
Dixie Chopper , a mower manufacturer, has appointed a new general manager and added four more employees to its sales and marketing divisions: Chris Vernon, Vice President and General Manager; David Hunt, Product Sales Demonstrator; Jason Sentell, Territory Sales Manager; Dena Jenkins, Marketing and Events Coordinator.
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Letters
Keep Up The Good Work
Ron,
I’ve been meaning to contact you for a few years to let you know how much I enjoy reading your articles. Your insights on the profession and life are always helpful and expressed with wisdom from experience.
I started here as a one-man department 33 years ago with zero budget. Fortunately with good people, hard work and learning from others, we’ve grown into a multi-faceted, self-sustaining operation.
Keep up the good work.
Tim Denny
Director of Parks and Recreation
Assistant Township Manager
Haverford Township, Penn.
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Word On The Web
On “National Anthem Is 200 Years Old: Sing The Song as It Was Written!” April 4 Week-Ender Blog:
Dear Randy,
It was an honor to learn about you and your original history lesson about our great American Flag. My father sacrificed much to bring us here from Mexico and to make us “naturalized legal U.S. citizens. Every year I put his original American flag out on the Fourth of July and thank him for making us proud U.S. citizens. Your lesson about our flag should indeed be the hallmark lesson to all children at school. As a fellow parks employee, I salute you for your great efforts to instruct the rest of us.
Rick Armendariz
Parks Center Supervisor
El Paso, Texas
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Cre8Play Is Off To The Races
Lil’ jockeys are ‘off to the races’ at the new Preakness-themed play environment situated at Watkins Regional Park in Upper Marlboro, Md. Complete with custom-detailed design to model authentic icons from the famous Pimlico racetrack and the rich horse-racing culture of Maryland, Watkins Downs includes realistic starting gates, carved horses, a custom winner’s barn, barrel crawl and more. Detailed features—including climber grips made from real horseshoes, a weathervane that moves with the wind and a copper-roofed cupola—add to the theme and authenticity of the play site. For more information, visit www.cre8play.com .
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Calendar
September
16-19 Colorado Parks & Recreation Association, Steamboat Springs, Colo.—Sheraton Steamboat Resort; www.cpra-web.org
23-26 Minnesota Recreation and Park Association Annual Conference, Blaine, Minn.— National Sports Center; www.mnrpa.org
30-2 West Virginia Recreation and Parks Association Conference, Roanoke, WV—Stonewall Resort State Park; www.wvrpa.org
October
8-10 World Aquatic Health Conference, Portland, Ore.—DoubleTree by Hilton; www.nspf.org
14-16 National Recreation and Parks Association National Congress, Charlotte, N.C.
November
3-6 Georgia Recreation and Parks Association Conference, Jekyll Island, Ga. www.grpa.org
24-25 Connecticut Recreation & Parks Association 54 th annual Conference & Tradeshow, Montville, Conn.—Mohegan Sun Hotel & Convention Center; www.crpa.com